Take meaningful pictures of your family - Christopher Anderson – Pia
I was standing in the playground the other day; you know, the place of cute little people, stuffed animals, and fallen ice cream. I was standing there, ready to snap another picture of my daughter, when something dawned on me. This was going to be one of those countless uploads for the rest of my family I have been taking for quite some time. Everybody is a photographer. We have graduated from attempting to catch that 'Kodak moment' on instant cameras, then disposable cameras, then digital cameras, and now on to our phone cameras. With the range of internet tutorials available, we might be tempted to try them all. Yes, practice makes perfect! Just remember that coming to the playground with a camera but without your own child might make you live out your very own episode of Law and Order.
Anyway, I remembered a book I saw online which looked like something I wanted to aspire to with my family photography. When the book arrived in my mailbox, I was not disappointed. Christopher Anderson's Pia is a wonderful example of transforming and evolving the photos of your loved ones into something more than the generic family portraits. It is a gem I have recently discovered, and it has continued to inspire me ever since. If you like these videos, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends; it really helps to produce more videos like this one, and if you really want to get notified, use the bell icon.
"Dear Pia, the making of these photographs must seem as natural to you as butter and toast. I probably photographed you every day of your life that I have been with you. There were too many days when travel and work took me away. But, truth be told, we've had more conversations about brushing teeth than about creating photos." - Christopher Anderson (part of the book)
Christopher Anderson is a Canadian-born born photographer and member of Magnum photos. From documentary to art to celebrity portraiture and fashion, Anderson's work crosses genres. He has produced some powerful work from conflict zones which also earned him two World Press photo awards. But, stepping away from that, this book represents a shift to a more personal project. The books shows us an intimate look behind the lens.
While much of his work involves the professional eye, this book shows what he really looks for behind the lens when it's something closer to the heart, when he's looking for the soul. The book focuses on Anderson's daughter and is a result of thousands of images capturing those moments. Like the family photo albums of old, preserving the memories of the families inside, the book, Pia, is a testament to the bond of father and daughter. Pia is an ode to parenthood, to saving those moments to share with your children later. The intimacy, then, is the trademark of the work. Following his previous book Son, this is the spiritual successor as another love letter to his second child, like Son was the love letter to his son, Atlas.
Isn't that what taking photos of our family is? A picture is worth a thousand words, and those memories can be remembered. My wife pointed out to me, however, that this is not a children's book. It is a book portraying the child being a child, but also almost like an adult. It displays a subtle sense of humor that is evident in the subtle artistic moments he chooses to share. It doesn't just seem like a mishmash of photos of one's child, but rather the moments they have been through together and a promise of moments yet to come.
What I really like about this execution of what I would call "a family project" is that - Pia is, of course, the main protagonist and the muse, but you can also catch glimpses of melancholy about the family's return to Paris, which is the story itself. Unlike many of my photographs, it does not simply document the change of look and shape of a single kid but rather the transition and growth of the whole family.
What I love about a compilation like this is how presentable it is. I mean, when I look at the pictures my family takes, what are the odds we are going to sit down and try to swim in this flood of thousands of photographs of a child eating an apple? When I remembered how much I enjoy looking at 400 photographs of my friend's vacation, I realized it is not about the quantity and capturing every possible angle, but rather about those tiny moments and the emotions they evoke. I guess that Pia is a book that showcases those moments, and, as Christopher Anderson says, "Emotion is really the only thing about pictures I find interesting. Beyond that, it is just a trick."
If you're interested in learning more, check out this book on Amazon.
